Leo Fitz, Junior Avenger
by hufflepuff whump medic
Summary: After suffering brain damage from hypoxia, Leo Fitz has lost his genius. The tasks he used to perform amazingly now are a challenge, and it's taking a toll on his mental health. Luckily, Tony Stark has heard about this and wants Fitz to come stay at Avengers Tower so he can help Fitz out!


"We just need to solder the… the… the…" Leo said as he mentally searched for what part he needed. He looked desperately at Mack for help. He just shrugged.

"I'm sorry man, I don't know. I wish I could help you," Mack replied gently.

"Oh, what's the point! I'll never be able to work again!" Leo shouted, and then proceed to grab beakers and smash them on the floor. Mack ran over to intervene. He took Leo's arms and asked him to take a deep breath. Fitz felt himself close to tears, the stress still built up inside of him. "I need to take a walk…" he groaned. As he headed for the door, he slipped on the broken glass and ended up with a bunch of shards in his arms.

"Aww, look at this! I'm a major mess!" He said as he tried to get up.

"You aren't," Mack said, helping him stand, "Doctor Munson? Could we get some help? Fitz hurt himself…" The medic sighed and got some supplies, while Fitz hopped up on his table. She walked over, moved the lamp so she could see what she was doing, and started pulling the glass out.

"Now, before you call a… um… a… mind doctor? No… a… a… psychologist! I, um… didn't… Ow! Careful there! I didn't hurt myself on purpose," he explained.

"I wouldn't ever do that," she said in an indifferent tone, "too much trouble. Those psych guys are annoying. Just try to control those outbursts or someone who doesn't mind the psychologists will end up calling them. Now, hold still. This one's really in there." Leo flinched as she ripped another shard out of his arm.

"Hey, I got a message from the Avengers. They want you at Stark tower?" May said as she walked in the room, "oh dear. What happened?"

"I slipped on a broken beaker. Stupid, really," Fitz replied while Dr. Munson wrapped his arm in gauze, "Wait. The Avengers want to see me?"

"Yeah."

"Aw man, this is so cool! The Avengers don't call just anyone, you know," Mack said.

"The Avengers… want to see… meeeeee?" Leo squeed, "I'll go get my coat!" May led an excited Leo to a quin-jet and blasted off toward the tower.

They landed twenty minutes later. When Leo hopped out of the jet, he saw none other than Tony Stark standing in front of him.

"Welcome to Avengers tower. Dr. Fitz, I presume?" he said, offering to shake hands.

"You're… Tony… Stark," Leo gasped, completely awestruck, "call me… Fitz… please." It was surreal, shaking Tony's hand.

"Well, come on back. I'm sure a fanboy like you would like to meet the rest of the team." As Leo followed Tony to the common area, Hawkeye jumped down from a high ledge and landed in front of them, drinking straight from a coffee pot.

"Agent Barton!" Leo exclaimed, "It's great to finally… finally… um, meet you! Yeah! That's the word!"

"You too," he said as he fist-bumped Leo, "you're that Fitz guy that Hill was talking about. Aren't you a little genius?"

"I-I guess…" Leo sighed, remembering his brain injury and how it is a hindrance to his sharp mind. He walked into the common area, which was like a very modern and open living room. He spotted Agent Romanoff and Thor sat on the couch watching an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and nearly fainted. He ran over to them and jumped up and down.

"Thor! Agent Romanoff! Aw man, you guys are so… so cool!" He shook their hands enthusiastically.

"You are Leopold? I have heard of you from Lady Siph. We've been expecting you," Thor said.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever been expected by anybody before," Fitz replied, blown away that he was speaking with a God, "and Agent Romanoff! I've heard… uh… I've heard… I've heard… um…"

"You've heard a lot about me?" Tasha suggested, a little confused by his inarticulate behaviour.

"Uh… Yeah. That's what I meant," he sheepishly replied. Just then, Steve Rogers- the one and only Captain America- walked in. Leo literally fell on his face. Steve rolled him eyes with a smile in his face, pulled a tin of smelling salts, and aroused him from his unconsciousness.

"Sorry…" he said as he saw Cap standing over him as he laid sprawled on the floor, "I got a little excited there."

"Believe me, it happens more often than you'd think. You're Dr. Fitz?"

"Fitz is just… just… just, um, fine. Seeing you face to face is unreal. You know, you're the guy that Coul- um, never mind."

"I know. Sometimes I can't believe he's gone either. He was quite the fanatic. Collected my trading cards from the forties." Leo giggled nervously, relieved that he didn't end up sharing secrets he wasn't supposed to.

"I'd like to um… um… thank you for your… uh… hmmm… aw, what's the word?"

"Thank me for…" Steve replied, confused.

"I'm so sorry, I have… um… trouble! Yes! Trouble with words. Thank you for your… your… your service! In the army and stuff!"

"You're welcome, Fitz." Tony walked over with a lab coat for Fitz with the Avengers logo on it.

"Thought you might want to look the part in the lab. Come on up, Dr. Banner would like to meet you too," he said, handing Fitz the coat.

"Don't make me pass out again, Mr. Stark. This is super cool," he said as he enthusiastically put on the coat, which was a little big, "can I keep it though?"

"It's an extra one of Banner's, so you'll have to ask him."

"Enough waiting," Leo exclaimed, "to the lab!" Tony led him to the elevator, pressed a button, and they were taken to the floor that Tony and Bruce shared as a workspace.  
"Wow…" was all Leo could say. It was a whole floor dedicated to science, technology, and engineering. He gawked at all the miscellaneous tech strewn about on Tony's side, and all the chemistry and biology instruments on Banner's side would have Jemma needing a paper bag to breathe into.

"Hey Bruce, our guest is here," Tony said to a figure who was working away at his computer. He turned around and Fitz was left with his jaw on the floor.

"Hello, Dr. Fitz. I'm Dr. Banner. You might know me as 'The Guy Who Turns Into The Hulk,'" he said. Leo once again shook an Avenger's hand, completely awestruck.

"You don't have to… have to… um… have to…"

"Sorry?"

"I… I've been having trouble… getting words out lately. I'm sorry. Don't… you don't have to call me Doctor," Fitz mumbled.

"Tony and I heard about your injury, Fitz. We wanted to help you. That's why we brought you here," Bruce explained.

"Wow. That's really… really… really nice of you. So that's why May packed a… um… ay, what's the word?" He sat there, trying to rack his jumbled brain for the term he was looking for. "Oh! A suitcase! I'm going to be staying here?"

"Yes. SHIELD can be a stressful place. Agent May thought it would be good for you to spend time away from SHIELD and get better here, in a more chill environment," Tony explained, "here you can assist Banner and I with our work, which will be good practice to retrain your brain. I'm also planning on developing some sort of tech to help you out, too."

"This all sounds amazing," he said, drooping, "but… I think the real reason I'm here is that I'm… I'm… I'm seen as useless. The team just wanted to get rid of me."

"Hey, that's completely false. I know your team. May, Triplett, MacKenzie, they all care about you, wether you've suffered from a hypoxic-anoxic brain injury or not. You still are of a great value to them. Believe me, I've talked a lot with everyone. They wouldn't ever want you to leave," Tony reassured him.

"That's… really sweet of them…" Fitz said, genuinely touched at how much SHIELD cared about him.

"Well, you've met the team. Let's get you settled in your room and then we'll get to work."

"Heh heh. This kind feels like… um…" he snapped his fingers as he tried to form the words, "Oh! Like camp! I once went to a sleep-away science camp when I was a lad. It was fun."

"Alright, well follow me, camper. Welcome to camp Avengers!" Tony took Leo up to his floor of the tower where he dumped his things in an extra bedroom. When they exited Leo's room, Pepper Potts was standing there.

"You're home early," Tony said with delight. He turned to Leo and said, "Fitz, meet your auntie Pepper."

"Pepper would be fine, Tony. It's nice to meet you, Dr. Fitz."

"Same. Call me Fitz. So, what's it like, being a… um… what's the word? Ah! The CEO of the world's greatest tech company?"

"Rather enjoyable, at best, but it's also kind of exhausting. I'm glad I got off early tonight. I was wanting to cook you and the team something delicious."

"Oh, boy! I don't think I've had a real nice dinner in a long time!"

"Well, I'll head down to the kitchen. Nice meeting your junior Avenger, Tony." Fitz stared as she walked away.

"Am I really a junior Avenger, Mr Stark?" He asked, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Sure, if it makes you feel so happy, then sure. Let's get to work."

"To the lab!" Leo exclaimed once again, feeling like a cartoon sidekick to Tony Stark. When they got down there, he pointed at a work table with random parts all over it. Leo recognized it immediately.

"Oh no! My night-night gun!"

"For today's cognitive exercise you'll be reassembling this ICER. I'm pretty good at reverse engineering, so if you're having trouble, just ask," Tony explained. He then took a small remote in his hand and pointed it at the corner of the room.

"Wait… do you have a camera back there? Why are you recording me?" Fitz asked.

"Agent May wanted me to record your progress. Was not my idea in the slightest." Fitz sighed and stared at all the parts, wondering where to even begin. Before the accident he could have reassembled the gun in five minutes. Now he had no idea if he would even be able to put it back together before dinner. He slowly formed the plans that he designed for the weapon in his mind, grabbed a few parts that made up the insides of the gun, picked up a soldering tool, and started to work. After assembling the air propulsion mechanism, though, he was completely lost on what to do next. He strained as he tried to imagine how it connected with the other mechanics of the gun. But it just wouldn't come. He sighed, picked up a screwdriver in anger, but then slowly put it down, knowing he didn't want to have an outburst in Tony Stark's lab.

"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry. I can't figure out the… the… the… oh…"

"The mechanism? How it goes together? That's alright, we'll get there. Show me what you need help with." Leo tried his very best to explain what he wanted, and Tony was very patient with him. But he still couldn't help but get discouraged when Tony showed him what he was forgetting, and felt stupid for not seeing such a simple thing.

"I'll never be able to fix this on my own! Why am I even trying?" he cried.

"Don't give up, Fitz. It will take time and practice to regain your cognitive abilities. At least you're in a patient environment here. Nothing important is on the line, just some guys tinkering around," Bruce consoled him.

"Thank you, Dr. Banner. You're right. Now, if we just put this here, it should snap right on…" he said as he got back to concentrating on his work. He toiled at his ICER gun for quite a while, but he actually surprised himself after seeing how much he did by himself. He got completely lost a few times, but with Tony and Bruce's encouragement, he was able to stay motivated and put the gun back together. He even finished it before dinner!

"Now, to see if it works. Shoot me with the gun. Bruce has a little antidote he can use."

"Mr Stark, I don't want to hurt you. What if I put it together wrong?"

"I believe in you, Fitz. Give me your best shot." He aimed at Tony and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He waited a bit, just in case the firing was delayed, but then sighed and put the gun back on the table. Tony walked over and took a look at it. It seemed completely alright to him. He opened it up; the insides were a total mess. Tony didn't know what to do; if he told Fitz he didn't properly assemble the ICER, he would be crushed. So he took the second pistol and pretended it was the one Leo assembled.

"I am so sorry, Fitz. It was completely my fault. You assembled this perfectly, just like the blueprints, but the propulsion can was empty. I'll get a new one and you can fire the gun at me. I deserve it," Tony said as he clicked a new one into the air supply. Fitz smiled and pumped his fist in victory; Tony had fooled him. He took the ICER and shot Tony right between the eyes, causing him to fall backwards onto the couch.

Pepper walked in just then. "Boys! Dinner's ready!" She called. Noticing Tony laying on the couch, she said, "Tony! Sleeping on the job! Especially when we have guests! Who are you?"

"Don't blame him," said Fitz, "I hit him with an ICER. Bruce, could you wake him up?" Fitz followed Pepper down to the dining room, where Barton, Romanoff, Thor, and Steve sat. Pepper walked back into the kitchen with a piping hot dinner when Tony and Bruce sat down. Fitz stuffed himself with all the wonderful things that Pepper made. By the end of the meal, he felt rather sleepy, as well as tipsy from the beer he had, too. The eight of them sat down to watch a movie. It was Barton's pick, and he naturally went with his favourite movie- Blade Runner. Leo fell asleep during the first fifteen minutes.

"Aw, look who's in a food coma," Pepper said, seeing the sleeping scientist, "I don't want to disturb him once this film is over."

"Same. He looks like a peaceful little baby. That's it, I'm carrying him up to his room once this is over," Cap said. And that's what he did after the movie was over. Pepper even tucked him in.

"He's adorable. I'm going to like having him around here." Natasha walked by and saw Pepper and Steve close the door, giggling. "You know," she said, "in SHIELD, having nerds as pets is frowned upon. Fitz's just a guy. Sure, he's a kid, and yes, he's cute, but he's also a human person."

The next morning, Leo woke up to the sounds of the local npr station on the clock-radio. He stretched, yawned, and looked around, confused for two reasons. The first was that he wasn't in his own bed at the scientific reserve, which cleared up quickly as he remembered he was at the Avengers tower. The second was that he wasn't asleep on the couch, meaning that someone somehow carried him up to bed instead of leaving him there. He quickly brushed those off and got dressed, put on his lab coat, an headed to the elevator. He stared at the buttons, trying to remember which one would take him to the common area. Instead, he ended up on Hawkeye's floor. He was doing early morning target practice, some nineties alternative rock blasting in the background.

"Oh, I am so sorry to bother you, Agent Barton," he said sheepishly, backing up into the elevator.

"No worries. Come hang out with me. I've got coffee, cereal, random baked goods, pop tarts, what are you hungry for?" He replied, leading him into his domain. It was decorated with a mainly purple colour scheme and many references to archery like targets and arrows. He had a purple furniture set and many high ledges and such to perch on.

"You've got a cool place here, Agent Barton. Is it true you had a… a 'nest' when you worked at SHIELD?" Leo said as he put some pop tarts into the toaster.

"Yes, I did. No one ever found it, though. It was my alone place. I love me some solitude. Especially in a high place."

"Huh. It's like me with my lab. Although, other people use it, so it's not that private, I guess. Back on the… the… um… the Bus, though, I shared a lab with Simmons, so I didn't mind. Aw man, she's so pretty… and kind… I hope she's okay. She left. Doing undercover work. At Hydra."

"You must miss her," Clint said as he sat down with Leo and poured him some coffee, "Cream? Sugar?"

"I never drink my coffee black, give me all the cream and sugar you've got. How… how do you tolerate the… the… ohhhh… words… the… the bitterness! How do you tolerate the bitterness of black coffee?"

"I dunno. The fact that it wakes me up, I guess. I don't mind the flavour." The two had a pleasant conversation for a while, reminiscing about SHIELD and the Avengers and all that. Leo felt so cool, talking to a high-ranking SHIELD agent he heard Coulson always talk about who also happened to be an Avenger. He was just explaining how he could make Clint some ICER arrows when Tony walked in.

"Fitz! There you are! I was looking for you! I wanted to show you what I was working on but I didn't see you in either your room or the common area."

"Sorry, Mr. Stark. I forgot what floor the common area was on. To the lab?

"To the lab!" Tony exclaimed.

"Later, Hawkeye. Pleasure talking to you." Leo chirped as he got in the elevator.

"Come hang out with me anytime! We're SHIELD bros, we must stick together!" Barton called to him as the elevator doors closed. Leo took a sip from the RAF roundel mug he got from Barton as the doors opened to the lab.

"Meet Iron Man armour, Mark XVII. It's a work in progress, but with help from a third party such as yourself, It'll be the best one yet. Ready to get to work, Fitz?"

"You bet!" He said, running up to the unfinished suit of armour. He studied it with great interest; all the inner workings and mechanisms fascinating him. It was tricky to figure out how the armour worked in his jumbled mind, but after taking a deep breath and concentrating, he was able to figure it out.

"And this exploits the principles of thermodynamics in a very clever way to create a battery that lasts longer! How brilliant!" He exclaimed to Tony. He went on the explain nearly every part of the armour. Tony had to help him find words and explain sometimes, but overall this spontaneous mind exercise was great for Leo. And the best part was he brought it on all by himself, simply because of pure fanboying over Tony's suit.

"This wasn't meant to be a mind exercise, but I declare it a success! I even turned on the camera so May could see. Now, I need your help. I've hit a dead end with the guns in the arms of this thing. I was wondering if you had any advice. This isn't a lie for some other mind exercise. I actually don't know."

"You're asking… me?" Fitz gasped, breathless at the fact that Tony Stark was sincerely asking him for his help. Tony just nodded. Leo opened up the panels on the arms and examined the mechanisms. There were lots of different parts, and he knew how all of them worked, but he had trouble recalling a clear image of what they do. The knowledge was still in there somewhere, but it was like the memories were stuck. He looked around but didn't see Tony on the couch anymore. He sighed, opened the backpack that May packed for him, and pulled out his old engineering books to help him jog his memory.

As he studied and remembered more and more, he looked at the mechanisms and completely deconstructed them. The work absorbed him, just him and the machinery in front of him. He snapped out of this state when he overheard Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner talking with each other. He pretended to work as he listened to their hushed conversation across the room.

"May sent me the CT results. It could have been way worse, but there is some damage that should not be ignored…" Bruce explained to Tony, "listen, I know you needed some help from another brilliant engineer so you can figure out the gun mechanism, but I'm afraid he's terrible at fixing things at the moment. He used to be great, but he lacks the memory recall, and worse, he feels he's doing great, but in reality, he's soldering random junk together."

"I understand, Bruce. That's why I'm working on TLDR. I'm telling you, it will help him regain the skills he lost from his injury," Tony replied, "there are a lot of reasons he was brought here, but one of my many reasons is that I want to help him."

"Cool acronym. What's it stand stand for?"

"Temporal Lobe Directing Rig. It replaces the functions of the neurons and axons he lost. I'll need another CT scan for his current conditions because the ones you gave me were taken two days after his rescue. He's healed quite a bit since then."

"I'll only schedule one if you tell the kid what you're up to. He has a right to know. This can't be a 'surprise,' Tony."

"I've been as honest as I can! I'm just… worried about his reaction."

"Trust me, Tony, his reaction will be one of gratitude. Just go over there and tell him your plan." Fitz swallowed hard. He just heard everything, and just like Bruce said, he was full of gratitude. Tony Stark, The Tony Stark, wanted to help him get his mind back in order.

Tony walked up behind Fitz and tapped him on the shoulder. Leo sighed and turned around. "I heard everything," he said, "I'm not offended. I'm actually very touched that you… you…"

"I wanted to help you?" Tony suggested. Leo looked back at him with tears forming in his eyes.

"I was… going to say that," he sniffed, "I'm just… about to cry. I don't wanna cry. You don't know… how much this means to me. That you, a busy man with way better things to do, are working on a cure for my hypoxia injury. I… can't thank you… enough." He felt his bottom lip quiver, and moments later he broke into joyful sobs. He was overwhelmed with gratitude and couldn't keep his happiness in for much longer. The tears weren't only an expression of his happiness, but it felt like all the negative and overwhelmed feelings that built up inside of him as he dealt with the aftermath of the accident. He probably cried for a half hour. When he finally finished, Tony gave him a glass of water and asked to see what Leo did with the armour.

"I took it all apart, flipped through my… um… my books, and put it back together… I think in a different way… but I probably made it worse…" he whimpered. Tony looked at the gun mechanism. It was the exact same as before. The same dead-end non-functioning gun mechanism. But what surprised Tony is that Fitz put it back together perfectly. Compared to the ICER yesterday, it was an achievement. But Tony had to confess one thing if he were to congratulate Fitz. He sullenly explained how he swapped the night-night guns so he wouldn't hurt his feelings and didn't tell him to the truth. Leo forgave him and reassured him that it was all good. He was also surprised that he put the gun mechanism back together perfectly.

"Maybe I am getting better. Can TLDR get me back to where I used to be? Cool name, by the way."

"That's my goal. I'm not expecting it to be a miracle, but you'll at least have 87.8% of the original temporal lobe function that you lost from oxygen deprivation back."

"Wow. I was expecting like, half, but 87.8%? That's amazing! No wonder you call yourself a genius!"

"Yes I am. But you are too, Fitz. That genius is still inside of you. He's just comatose right now, but with TLDR, that little guy will wake up." Fitz chuckled at the thought of a tiny person in his head.

"So, when's my CT scan?" He asked.

"This afternoon, down at metro-general hospital. After lunch. I was thinking you could hang out with Agent Barton until then. Sounds good?"

"Yeah. I just have one question for you."

"Shoot."

"Is this like, a… a… the word… what is it… an implant? Do I have to have surgery?"

"Yes. But don't worry, the surgeon will probably do it through your nose."

"Eugh. Medicine is so weird."

"I agree with you, buddy. But Bruce said that's how doctors usually do it. At least he doesn't have to cut your skull open, though."

"That's a scary thought," Leo said.

"Well, class dismissed. Go hang out for a while, then we'll have lunch and go to the clinic." Leo headed to the elevator and pressed the button for the rooftop. Agent Barton told him that he liked to hang out there in the mornings and feel the breeze. When the doors opened and he stepped out, there he was, sitting on some comfy patio furniture across from Agent Romanoff.

"Hey! It's Fitz!" He cheered, "Come here! Want a grape soda?"

"Sure," he said as he plopped down on the soft couch. Clint opened the bottle with his switch blade and gave it to Fitz.

"So… I can talk freely about SHIELD stuff, right? I mean, we're alone, we're all SHIELD agents, and it kind of doesn't exist anymore…" Leo asked.

"Say whatever you want," Agent Barton replied, "it doesn't matter. Tell me, how's Coulson these days?"

"Busy as heck. He's trying to get this ragtag vigilante operation we've got going on in order. Make it a shadow of the neatness of the old SHIELD. Our new HQ is at the old strategic scientific reserve base upstate. Wait, should I have said that?"

"Don't sweat it," said Agent Romanoff, "this rooftop is surrounded by an invisible layer of a certain radio frequency that makes it so no one can listen in."

"Brilliant," said Fitz, "reminds me of muffliato. You know, from Harry Potter."

"I think that's what inspired Tony in the first place," Barton said as he sipped his coffee. Leo loved talking to Barton and Romanoff. They were like celebrities back in the SHIELD academy and people would fantasize about meeting them someday, Fitz included. It felt weird to actually talk to them and find that they were normal people.

"Fitz? It's time for your appointment," Tony called to him a little later. Leo got up quickly said goodbye, and took the elevator down to Tony's car. They stopped at Subway on the way. In just over an hour, Leo had his brain scan taken and the results sent directly to Tony Stark.

Back at the tower, Leo tinkered around while Tony worked on the TLDR implant. Bruce made sure to record his progress and help him out whenever he could. As the hours passed, Tony became absorbed by his work, deeply motivated by the fact he was helping Leo become his old self again.

"No wonder you call yourself a philanthropist," Bruce said to Tony as he worked well into the evening, while Leo was having an epic Mario Kart tournament downstairs, "this is so generous of you. You're investing time and money into this one kid."

"He deserves it. I see a future in this guy. He reminds me of me, but more humble. And Scottish."

"True, and true. Hey, you have the contact with the surgeon yet?"

"I'll call him tomorrow morning. This device will hopefully be ready in two days. I want the procedure done quickly after. "

"Yes, and remember that I'll have to monitor him here at the tower for a bit as well. Just to make sure the implant is working and that he's alright. Well, it's getting quite late, Tony. I suggest you go to bed soon."

"Yeah, alright, goodnight. Don't worry about me," Tony yawned. He ended up staying up until 4 am and got around 3 hours of sleep.

The following morning, a caffeine-powered Tony got on the phone with the surgeon. He worried as it rung once, twice, three times. But before the fourth, the other line picked up.

"Hello?" Said the surgeon.

"Hi, Dr. Strange, this is Tony Stark. I'm calling to-"

"I'll have to cut you off right there. You're Tony Stark? The Tony Stark? I thought it was a prank… what do you want? I'll do anything for you!"

"I need you to install an implant I designed in a friend of mine's temporal lobe. Designed it myself. He's just a young adult, he's unbelievably brilliant but suffered brain damage in a near drowning."

"Hypoxia. That's rough. I'm not doing anything right now. Bring him in. You got some CT results or something? He seems like an interesting case. I rarely- okay, I've never got to implant something made by Stark Industries in someone before."

"They've got some from yesterday on file at metro-general. Is it alright if we're there in an hour?"

"Yes, that would be good. See you then, Mr. Stark." After Tony put his phone down, he quickly got Leo into his car and drove to the hospital once again. As Fitz rode in the passenger seat, he worried about what it would be like. He never liked meeting new people.

"Good morning, Leo. My name is Dr. Strange. I'll be the one implanting the TLDR in your brain. Nice to meet you." Leo shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too. You've got a fun surname, by the way," he said. Dr. Strange quickly got to work. He put on some of his favourite 70's music and began taking Leo's history, checking his vitals, and explaining how the procedure worked.

"Well, you're all clear, Leo. I'll operate tomorrow morning," Dr. Strange stated as he put his clipboard aside. Leo jumped.

"T-t-tomorrow?" He whimpered.

"I understand you're nervous, Fitz. But I'm one of the most skilled neurosurgeons in the world. You're in good hands. Don't be afraid, everything will be alright. Just focus on the fact that you'll be your old self again!"

"I guess that's a comforting thought. Thanks, Dr. Strange." Leo spent the rest of the day chilling with Thor, Agent Barton, and Captain America in Central Park. They visited the zoo and had a fun time seeing all the animals. While they were away, Tony finished up the implant and ran it though some tests, then went to tweaking it and polishing it off.

At the end of the day, Pepper cooked him a simple and comforting macaroni and cheese meal. She peeked her head in to Leo's bedroom when he got ready to go to sleep. "You alright? Do you need anything?" She asked.

"I don't think so… I can't have tea, so I'm not sure what would calm me…" he replied. Then, a little memory was recalled to him. He felt his cheeks turn red at the thought, but it would give him comfort.

"Actually, Pepper, when I was eight and was nervous about my tonsillectomy, I found great comfort when my mum told me a story, then gave me a tight squeeze and tucked me in to bed. I was… wondering… aw, I'm a grown man! I don't need these things!"

"Yes, you do," she said in a soothing voice. Leo didn't object as she gave him a nice mama-bear squeeze that lasted a whole minute, then tucked him in and recounted a funny story from her honeymoon with Tony. Leo felt himself relax as she talked about how they explored Europe together.

"And the moral of the story is: if you can't speak fluent German, don't get in a blue cab with a rainbow on it," she finished, ten minutes later. Fitz felt more calm and felt that he could sleep easy now.

"Thank you, Pepper. Took me right back to my childhood. If you're ever going to be a mother, you'll do an awesome job."

"Aw, Fitz, you're too kind. Goodnight, buddy."

Leo woke up five minutes before Tony came in to wake him. He quickly showered and got dressed in some sweatpants and a t-shirt. He was super nervous as Tony drove him to the hospital, and sort of had a minor freak out when he sat in the waiting room in a hospital gown, but once he saw Dr. Strange in scrubs, he relaxed and knew that he was in good hands.

He woke up later, the surgery a success. Dr. Strange required him to stay the rest of the day to see how he was functioning. The sun was setting as Leo was driven back home. Back at the tower, he slept until noon the next day, still very sleepy from the anesthesia.

After recovering for two days, Tony gave him the deconstructed ICER. Fitz took a deep breath and looked at all the parts. Immediately, like a miracle, he knew exactly what to do. It was like he was in a cartoon and that little lightbulb went off above his head! Piece after piece, mechanism after mechanism materialized in his mind as he swiftly and expertly reassembled the pistol. His sharp mind was back! He tested the gun (on a non-living target this time,) and it worked beautifully. He looked at Tony, his vision blurred by happy tears.

"Mr. Stark, you magnificent miracle worker! You did it! You fixed my brain! I can do it! I'm back!" He ran up and hugged Tony, thanking him over and over. Tony found himself holding back tears.

"It was my pleasure, kid," he said on the brink of tears, "my pleasure."

Fitz stayed at the tower for another week; and his improvements were extraordinary. He even designed a brand new gun mechanism for the mark VI Iron Man suit, and got those ICER arrows made for Hawkeye. When he was cleared by Dr. Strange, Fitz felt full again. No longer would he struggle; he was going to be there to help his team with whatever tech they needed.

After he said goodbye to all the Avengers and Tony told May the good news, he hopped in the quin-jet and took off to go back to the Scientific Reserve base. He smiled as he thought of how thrilled Simmons would be with the news. Maybe she would make him a sandwich. Ward was locked up now, so there would be no one to toss it into the mud, either.


End file.
